There is something likable about Billy, even though he is pretty unlikable. “Billy the Pyro” is a new comic, published by Alterna Comics, that gives us a main character with an uncontrollable hunger for arson. Well, as he puts it, he just needs to see things burn. His psychiatrist can’t seem to break through. His dad would just as soon break his skull. No, it’s not good being Billy.

Written by Brad Burdick and illustrated by Fabian Cobos, “Billy the Pyro” confidently tells a simple tale of anguish with little need to force any sympathy. It’s done with a light touch. We feel it in Burdick’s script in the way Billy is resigned to his situation and how he attempts to cope. We feel it in Cobos’s artwork which makes Billy an excellent study in vulnerability.

This resignation to whatever craziness life hands you is expressed with an undertated style that, for me, is a hallmark of Alterna Comics. By the time we get to some supernatural elements to this story, they emerge with little fanfare, at first, and start to build. Billy has no reason to believe and, when he is given proof, it comes as a rude jolt. Just his luck, huh?

“Billy the Pyro” is a thoughtful, spooky, and very entertaining comic. It is available now and you can find it at Alterna Comics here.